One by One
by FantasyPunk
Summary: This is a story about Beck based after the events in the anime. It includes an O.C and other characters borrowed from the manga as they become involved with the members of the band. With Ryusuke missing in action, the band attempts to rise again with new challenges awaiting them. Please leave a review with your thoughts about this story.


He first met _Beck_ during the fall of 2001…

Riku was 19, full of ambition and had no idea what the hell he was getting into. He had just finished school and started work at _Remedy._ Post-secondary was out of the question at that point due to his relatively low grades. His mother always pestered him about his schooling, saying, "Riku, you need an education if you want to be a business man like your father," and other repetitive heckling to its likeness, but the truth is business bored the shit out of him and books made him feel old. If Riku was going to spend his life doing honest work, he wanted it to be something exciting. Seeing as he spent most of his time absorbed in music and alcohol (often one more than the other), working at a rock bar might be a decent idea. What he really wanted to do was one day open a live house of his own and bring in bands from all over the country. Bands like _Shiboyugi_ and Generation 69.

_I needed to work my way to the top and the first step was learning how to run a bar, so __Remedy __had to suffice._

"Hey Riku, quit slackin' and fetch this man some sake!" Mitchan yelled more often than he spoke. As intimidating as he was, everyone who knew Mitchan would agree that he's a pretty nice guy as long as you were on his good side. He may not be the best manager in the world, but Riku enjoyed working for him.

Riku arose from his daydream and walked to the other end of the bar toward the alcohol shelves. After a quick second of familiar browsing he reached for his favorite sake almost mechanically, as if he was making a drink for himself. He mixed the customer's drink, a practice that became thoughtless, then brought it towards the customer and Mitchan. When Riku finally looked up at the customer waiting at the bar he saw a strangely familiar young man. His bleach blonde hair set him apart from everyone else in the room, a trait uncommon in that part of Tokyo. He looked back at Riku, his distant dark eyes showing the look of pure disinterest. Riku handed him his drink and he muttered his thanks.

"You fuckin' kidding me, the kid actually ran away from his parents?" Mitchan looked quite surprised as he questioned his acquaintance. Mitchan was a straight forward guy; He wore his emotions on his face and had the rare quality of a person without shame.

"Yeah, just up and left. He's really serious about the band," the blonde said in his emotionless voice.  
"Well," said Mitchan. "If I had any skepticism about him at first it's all gone now. Kid got balls too, going out on his own like that."

"Yeah. We're going to be working flat out for the next few months to regain some momentum. Not even sure if any of this is going to be worth it but—" the blonde man got interrupted as his half-drunken friend walked up to the bar and pushed him aside in a friendly fashion.

"Mitchan, where's my sake," the newcomer asked. "I sent Taira to the bar to get it ten minutes ago!" The guy had manners much like Mitchan himself. He too was distinguishable by his hair: a curly mess of dark hair the same shade as Riku's on the top of his head that one might call an afro.

"Hold on, Chiba," said Mitchan. "If you get too drunk and cause trouble again tonight, I'm going to kick your ass myself." Mitchan's sheepish grin told Riku that he and Chiba were good friends to some extent.

"Anytime, old man!" Chiba shouted back. Chiba seemed to be around the same age as his blonde friend, Taira, about Riku's own age.

Riku glanced down at their clothes. He realized that he should have tagged them as the band-type sooner. Aside from Taira's hair, he was wearing a bright yellow sweatshirt and casual brown pants. Chiba was wearing jeans and a Generation 69 t-shirt, the ones they only sold during their latest tour. This sparked Riku's interest, so he decided to start conversation himself. "Taira, is it? Did I hear you say you were in a band?"

"Fuck yeah!" Chiba interrupted enthusiastically. "We're called Beck, B-E-C-K, and we will blow your fuckin—"

"Shut up, Chiba. You're drunk." Taira laughed as he motioned to dismiss his friend. "We used to play around the city quite a bit, but we haven't played a show since Greatful Sound this summer," he said.  
Wow, Greatful Sound! That's a big accomplishment in itself. Riku was impressed, but he didn't want to embarrass himself with envy. "That's awesome, I was at the festival last year. So, why did you stop playing live, working on an album?"

"Not quite," said Taira. "Our guitarist left the country. He found himself in some bad business and now he's somewhere in America. After that the band just fell apart. These things happen sometimes, it's unfortunate."  
"Damn that Ryusuke," Chiba muttered, obviously angry with his former band-mate. "Right when things were going good he decided to run away with his tail between his legs!"

"It's not like he could help it, Chiba," Taira scolded. It seemed like the coolness of Taira's voice never wavered.

"I know," Chiba said. He looked down apologetically. At that moment Riku could see the sadness in his eyes; it was easy to tell that this band meant a lot to him. "Well at least we still have the shrimp. Koyuki is going to be one hell of a guitarist one day, and that voice of his is enough to bring in all the little hotties." With that last sentence Chiba's grim look quickly turned into a fox-like grin. Chiba chuckled at his own conclusion.

"He's been working pretty damn hard too," added Taira.

A period of content silence washed over them as the two sipped at their drinks. There weren't many people at _Remedy_ for a Friday night. Riku counted five people up at the bar finishing their drinks, a couple young groups at the tables enjoying their food and a few people cluttered around the arcade games in the corner. Even the Karaoke stage was empty, a usual attraction on a Friday night. The atmosphere began to sway Riku's mind into dark places, so he attempted to pick up the conversation.

"So are you guys going to start playing shows again soon?" He enjoyed talking about music and he was genuinely interested in the band.

"Actually," said Taira. "That's our business here tonight. We want to ask Mitchan if he'll organize a show for us. A step down from the Marquee, but we have to start somewhere." The tone Taira spoke in was almost eerie. The manner he spoke was so precise and reasonable, but it had a constant undertone of apathy.

"Of course," shouted Mitchan, walking back from the other end of the bar, overhearing the conversation through the little work he was doing. "I can't promise much of a pay, but I'll be more than happy to throw _Beck_ a bone." Riku didn't quite get the pun at the time, but the smirks on the two band members' faces suggested it was there. Even though Mitchan was cheap at times he'd do anything for you if he liked you.

"We're not worried about the money right now," said Taira. "We just want to get the word around about the reunion of _Beck._"

"Some kids in this band called 'Crazy Tattoo' have been bugging me non-stop to let them play so I gave them a spot three weeks from now. You guys can play that night with them if it's not too soon," Mitchan said.

Taira's eyes widened for a moment, then he gave a cool smile. "Thanks Mitchan," he said, shaking the rugid man's hand.

Riku took the moment to join into the conversation again. "Cool! If I'm working I'll get to check out your set."

"Oh, you'll be working alright," said Mitchan in his smug tone. "We will be promoting this event, so I expect a big crowd and a busy night."

"You know," Riku said, "It would probably help if you hired more staff once in a while." They were often understaffed at _Remedy_, as well as overworked and underpaid; that night was just an exception.

"Listen here, boy," Mitchan growled. "When you have a bar up and running for ten years, feel free to tell me how to do my job, but from what I recall _you _are working for _me_!" Though Mitchan was only half-serious, he was more frightening than most men after losing their temper.

"G-Got it, Sir," Riku uttered, his eyes falling to the floor.

As the next hour passed, most of the crowd left, leaving the bar nearly empty and even more dull. Riku waited steadily for his shift to end as he chatted with Mitchan, Taira, Chiba, and the scattered customer that hung out by the bar.

"You've been eyeing that liquor all night, Riku," Mitchan said. "Listen, it's a slow night. If you want to have a drink, go ahead. If anyone asks, your shift ended early."

A grin quickly grew on the young man's face. _And _that_ is why Mitchan is so great_. "Thanks, boss," Riku replied.

As the night transformed into morning and people in Riku's vision transformed into shapes, he became all too aware of the bond he was building with the two members of_ Beck._ Taira, the silent voice of reason made him feel comfortable, but withdrew more and more into his own shell of thought with every drink. Chiba, on the other hand became more and more obnoxious with every drink. Even though they nearly came to fists for a brief moment, by the end of the night they could comfortably joke and provoke one another with no response any more harsh than a laugh.

"So we'll be seeing you in three weeks for our live," said Taira quizzically.

"Wouldn't miss it!"

"And we'll settle our score then," said Chiba referring to a casual drinking game from earlier that night. "And I'll fukin' mop the floor with your punk ass! I'll show you who the real pussy is, you—" His drunken ramblings ended as Taira hauled him out the door and the two bandmates were on their way.

""The last of 'em are gone," said Mitchan. "Now you're going to clean up the fucking mess you and Chiba made!" He gestured around the room and through his cloudy vision Riku could clearly see that the two of them effortlessly wrecked the place.

_Fuck, I'm so fired._


End file.
